Project Life, weeks 18-21

I have been behind in my Project Life because I’ve been busy with work, a little bit lazy (I’ve been so tired lately!), and working very slowly on my pages. I’m trying to improve how my weekly pages turn out (remember, it’s part of my summer bucket list) and they seem to take me much longer to complete than before. It’s almost as if I’m creating a mini layout for each day! It would easy to continue as I have done before and type right onto my photos in Photoshop, or slap a journal tag on, scribble something out and call it a day. I don’t want to do that right now; I’ve been seeing some amazing pages on Pinterest, and I want to take the effort and spend some time being a little more creative. I’m trying new techniques and thinking outside the box for ideas and inspiration. That goes for my regular layouts as well, and I decided to complete one more of the challenges from Big Picture Classes’ Creative Crop since my brother sent me some awesome photos from a recent family get-together. I kind of piecemealed some ideas together: one of the challenges from BPC was to use new techniques and products that we normally don’t go for, and I also sort of incorporated Studio Calico‘s class lesson from their class Pop Off the Page. So, I put all my eggs into one basket and went for it, coming up with this layout:

I got a little carried away with embellishing this layout above, but I was having so much fun, and experimenting at the same time, so I just let it be. I like to add extra page protectors to my weekly pages; sometimes I have too much for one page, but not enough for two pages. These are the products I use to add extra photos:

These are wonderful; I was introduced to them by Ali Edwards in her One Little Word class. Can’t live without them, now!

All of these page protectors, including the flip pockets are currently available at Amazon.com, and the link is here.

Sometimes I cut and sew my page protectors to suit my needs; I also may add washi tape and staples, I just use my imagination. May was a busy month for me with birthdays, National Hospital Week and Mothers’ Day, so I had extra photos and ephemera I wanted to include, so having these extra protectors has been indispensible and very practical. I highly recommend them. Unfortunately, however, on another note about Project Life products, I have just come to realize that my favorite binders (the black or white Signature Binders made specially for PL) are no longer available at this time. Bummer, because my binder is getting pretty full and bulky, and I need a new one. Call me finicky, but I like my binders to match for a single year. If anyone hears of these binders being available at another retailer (Scrapbook.com is also out), please let me know.

For now, enjoy documenting your unique life and have some fun with it. You will enjoy looking back on these books in the years to come!

Thanks for dropping by!

Jennifer

Aug 6

Getting Ready for Back-To-School

I loved getting ready for back-to-school when I was a kid, and now it’s my turn to get my daughter ready. This is her first year in junior high, so for both of us, it’s a big deal. I took as many photos as I could, but it was hard because she gets so tired of my photographing everything going on! I can’t help it; this is my only baby, and the older she gets, the more important it is for me to document her growth because before I know it, she won’t be around for this kind of stuff, and she’ll be all grown up! I always thought the “milestones” were for babies and toddlers, but I am now realizing that they don’t stop! Here’s today’s sketch/layout:

I did this one rather quickly, but that’s okay; I was busy today, but still not too busy to do a layout worthy of this blog. Very important. Thanks for stopping by!

Jun 30

Five!

Ali Edwards produces some terrific classes, and I try to take as many as I am able to. One of the classes offered a while back is called “Five”, and it is a class to create a book documenting five of the most important memories that you have at this moment. I loved the idea, and I am not ashamed to say that I love every class Ali puts on. I always learn something, and I just love her style. I purchased the class, but was unsure when I would be able to “take” the class, until a few days ago when I had a day off and decided I had waited long enough. Gathering the necessary supplies was not a problem; Ali usually does not require one to purchase a mint-load of supplies in order to take her classes, which is one of the things I so love about taking her classes. If you don’t have a specific item she happens to use, then use something you already have and it will be good enough. Love that. For my five special memories I want to remember, I thought about what is happening or I should say, what has been happening in my life lately, and I looked for the photos to back that up (by the way, I am trying as hard as I can to take a “Photo A Day”, for all of you who are doing the same). I am sure I could make more of these books, or I could have made a book named “10″, or “15″, etc. This is what I made.

I used a large woodgrain stamp on the number, and embossed it for a woodgrain effect on the paper.

I am not as happy with my numbers as I thought I would be. One of the ideas of creating the book is to use various techniques to create the numbers using wax (which I did not); embossing; spray ink; sewing patterns; and die cut overlays for texture. I tried to do those techniques to the best of my ability using what I have, but I am not really happy with any of the results except for number 2. For the other numbers, Ali suggested alternate techniques and using what you have and your imagination to create unique numbers for the book, but here I think I fell very short. I would love to hear what you think, and what you would have done different; I know I always learn from others and I always take others input as helpful suggestions. Thanks for stopping by!

Jun 22

Happy Little Memories

[Warning: photo-heavy post]

I have finally finished making my mini book for the “Happy Little Moments” class given by Studio Calico last March! What took me so long? Lack of time, and doing a page at a time, little by little when time allowed. But it’s completed now, and here is my version:

This was a really fun book to make, and I love it. I really have taken to the shabby imperfection of this look, and I think I may try something like this on future layouts.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for looking! Have a great weekend!

Jan 15

The Good and the Bad.

I am finally working on my first class assignment for “Journey to Happiness: What Matters Most”….never mind that the rest of the class is on week three! Better late than never!

I’ve also been working diligently on my Project Life album. Only today have I gotten photos taken to show here. I don’t know that I want to show everything, but this is a general idea of how eclectic it is because I generally include most everything from my life in the photo pockets. I also love that I have a chance to do more journaling than normal.

My life. I enjoy this project; keeping the album on my desk (readily accessible) makes it easy to stay caught up. I’ve also noticed that I pay way more attention to the little things in my life because of this project. Even my mom has decided to do her own Project Life album! Thanks for stopping by!

Jul 23

7-23-11

I have begun my journey on the road to “Explore”, with Shimelle Laine. I’ve printed out the prompts, and I’ve actually got 90% of the workbook/journal complete. Taking so many classes at one time is a challenge, especially when I work full time, and I’m lucky enough to have projects in the works for others. But, it’s good for me. I’m stretching myself and feeling very motivated, creatively.

Here is my workbook, one of several journals I’m in the process of working on. I look forward to getting into the nitty- gritty of this particular class, and when I do, I’ll be back to show what I’ve done. Have a great weekend!

Jul 20

I want to explore.

Yesterday I signed up for another class. Yes, I have an itch to enrich. This class is called “Explore” and is taught by Shimelle Laine. I have no idea what to expect, except that every day will introduce a new scrapbook adventure, and by the end of the class, I will have a journal filled with exciting new ideas, and my mind should be filled with inspiration!

Next week I am partaking in Ali Edwards’ “Week in the Life”, as I have done last year. This is a fun week of paying attention and documenting the everyday of my every day. I’ll be back giving updates of what I’m up to with each class. Can’t wait!

Jul 11

Design challenges 2 & 3

This is a great class to get those creative juices going again. Our instructor, Elizabeth Dillow, offers a challenge prompt every so many days, to create something we may have never tried or thought of before. It’s been really fun, so far. Here are challenges 2 and 3 (number 1 I’ve posted previously.)

using a photo as a background page. This is my silly daughter.

Using orange as the primary color on a page. Never would have thought of it.

Sometimes, stepping outside of our comfort zones is good for us, whether it’s in reference to being artistic and creative, or in other areas of life. Here, it is good for me because part of my love for scrapbooking involves learning and growing. The classes I am taking at Big Picture Classes certainly nurture this. Go ahead and try something different next time you do something crafty. I’ll bet you’ll love it! Happy Scrapping!

Jan 7

Post-a-day 2011

New year, new day. Today, I am starting a new challenge for myself: to create a new post for my blog every day. WordPress gave me the inspiration to join their “Post-A-Day 2011″, and I took them up on their offer. This is post number one, with 358 more posts to go.

I have started a new class online, called Yesterday/Today, with Ali Edwards by Big Picture Classes. Wonderful content, enlightening topics, exciting things to do. I created a layout for the class which will be the introduction page for my album, and here it is. I just love old photos, don’t you?

Retrospect

documenting life, creating art.

Tag Archives: classes